Hopkinton 22, Ashland 21: Hillers win a thriller

After the Hopkinton football team scored touchdowns on its first two drives, it seemed as if the Hillers were going to play the part of the big brother to a T. The cold and gusty wind might have deterred some teams, but Ashland pushed Hopkinton to the limit, ultimately falling 22-21 in the 90th annual Thanksgiving Day showdown between the rivals.

After the Hopkinton football team scored touchdowns on its first two drives and converted two 2-point conversions for a 16-0 lead at David M. Hughes Field in Hopkinton, it seemed as if the Hillers were going to play the part of the big brother to a T.

The cold and gusty wind might have deterred some teams, but Ashland pushed Hopkinton to the limit, ultimately falling 22-21 in the 90th annual Thanksgiving Day showdown between the two Tri-Valley League rivals.

"Ashland played a good game," said Hopkinton coach Jim Girard. "We made an adjustment on defense to stop their inside run. Unfortunately, we had a couple turnovers that gave them opportunities. It was certainly a battle."

Hopkinton drove 78 yards on 11 plays on their opening drive, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run from senior captain Nick D’Aloia. The Hillers added a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Ashland went three-and-out on its first drive and after two big runs from junior running back Drew Donohue (16 carries, 162 yards), junior quarterback Pat Ryan punched it in from a yard out. Ryan’s two-point conversion gave the Hillers a 16-0 lead after the first quarter.

"We knew that it was going to be cold and windy and that the field was going to be wet and icy after the rain from yesterday," said Donohue, "so we just planned on grinding it in with the runs."

The Clockers put themselves on the board after quarterback David Morrison scampered 39 yards for a touchdown just before the half expired.

Ashland failed to convert their 2-point conversion attempt, trailing 16-6 at the half.

"I told them we needed to start playing football," said Ashland coach Andrew MacKay. "We played miserably in the first half. We didn’t come ready to play."

Once the second half started, Hopkinton turned into the big brother again as Matt Decina killed Ashland’s opening possession of the second half with an end-zone interception.

After a scoreless third quarter, things heated up.

A muffed snap on a Hopkinton punt gave the Clockers new life at midfield. Five plays later, senior running back Paul Ferrier scored on a toss left from 5 yards out, cutting the deficit to 16-12.

Ashland kicker Joe Kerkach nailed the game’s only extra-point kick, cutting the Clockers’ deficit to three points with 6:26 left to play.

The two teams battled it out until Hopkinton’s D’Aloia scored from 28 yards out with 1:31 left in the game.

Ashland wasn’t going away without a fight, however, as the Clockers scored six plays later on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Morrison to Joe Iarussi with nine seconds remaining.